PC shipments fall 20% in sharpest Q3 decline on record, analysts say

Global shipments of laptops, desktops and workstations fell sharply in the third quarter of 2026, with two major analyst firms reporting declines of about 20 percent compared with the same period last year. Omdia said in an announcement this week that shipments dropped 21.2 percent year over year to 58.1 million devices, calling it the sharpest decline since the first quarter of 2023. IDC reported a similar 20.1 percent year-over-year drop to 62.7 million units, down from 78.5 million in Q3 2025.

The downturn was broad across form factors. Omdia said desktop shipments, including desktop workstations, slid 23.5 percent to 11.7 million units, while laptop and laptop workstation shipments declined 20.6 percent to 46.4 million. The figures also represent a sequential decline: IDC noted that the industry shipped 9.1 percent fewer PCs in Q3 2026 than in Q2 2026, when 68.2 million units moved.

The drop is unusual because third-quarter PC shipments typically outpace the second quarter. According to IDC, via PCMag, the 20.1 percent year-over-year decline is the largest the firm has ever recorded during a third quarter. Jitesh Ubrani, research director for consumer devices at IDC, told PCMag that sharper declines have occurred in other quarters in recent years, including a 28.2 percent drop in Q4 2022 and a 28.7 percent fall in Q1 2023, both of which followed pandemic-era highs.

IDC pointed to inventory dynamics as a key driver. The firm said many PC vendors and sales channels stocked up on shipments earlier in the year in anticipation of memory price hikes, leaving minimal demand during the third quarter. "Channels are now worried about carrying too much inventory into a market where high prices are suppressing demand," Ubrani said in a statement.

The two analyst firms' totals differ — Omdia put the quarter at 58.1 million units versus IDC's 62.7 million — but both directionally describe a market contracting at a pace not seen in several years. Omdia's comparison reaches back to Q1 2023 for the sharpest decline, the same quarter IDC cited as an example of a deeper drop in a non-third quarter.

It remains to be seen whether the elevated inventory levels and memory-driven pricing will ease in the coming quarters. For now, both Omdia and IDC describe a market where earlier stockpiling has pulled forward demand and left channels cautious about holding too much unsold product.